New Caribou Quick Fasten Cargo Box & Case System

[Herbie]

Would make camping very easy for us if we could keep our gear loaded and then just lock it on and go.

Agreed. I am ALL about being able to keep my gear cases packed and stacked when not in use. Our first car camping trip took me near a week of evenings to get things packed and ready to go. 2nd trip? We left on two hour's notice.

Any system that lets me keep gear organized, secure, and clean and merely requires loading or latching into the camper is a huge plus. This is the major reason why the system I'm building for the van is based around cases/bins instead of drawers. Its not that I don't want to build drawers, and its not that drawers wouldn't be more functional in the field, its that I simply don't want to have to re-pack the vehicle before every trip (or haul all the gear in my daily driver, either).

 

[BIGdaddy]

Excellent question on the stregth of the fasteners Brian. I should have included this in the introduction, so here are the specs per fastener. There are two sizes, regular for the smaller cases (1500 series thru 3200 series) and heavy duty for the larger cases (5500 & 7300 series):

Specifications Per Single Fastener: Regular - Heavy Duty
Max. Working Tensile Strength: 120lbs (530 N) - 560lbs (2400 N)
Average Ultimate Strength 500lbs (2220 N) - 1000lbs (4450 N)
Max. Working Shear Strength 700lbs (3110 N) - 1250lbs (5560 N)
Receptacle Pull-Out Force T-6 Aluminum Base 336lbs (1494 N) - 336lbs (1494 N)

Testing was done with my Toyota T-100 4x4 truck with stiff suspension. We loaded one 60lb bag of concrete in the smaller cases, and two bags (120lb) in the larger cases. Terrain included washboards, deep ruts, rocks, slow and high speed. We also mounted a 2100 series case vertically and ran the same tests. Then we mounted the larger cases on a Yakima rack and did the same tests. No failures and no problems (except for bent tubing and deformed truck bed rails). Then we intentionally weakened the QFS bases to create an easier pull-out force on the fastener receptacle and still no problems. Since this product is very customizeable to each user's requirements you may certainly add more fasteners to the larger cases if you see the need. There are those among us that can break an anvil (you know who you are), and as with our motorcycle luggage products we'll always strive to make the product more crash proof based on field data. Please take a close look at the downloadable documents on our web site here http://cariboucargo.com/?name=Downloads to see some of the things we've done in design to make this system strong.

With regard to racks, I spoke at length with the folks from several manufacturers. With our rail kits included it is very straight forward whether the rack basket has a tubular floor or flat plate (our rails are readily available 1" x 1/2" x 1/8" steel channel). If you don't use the rail kits, it is still straightforward for the flat plate floor type, but the tubular type gets a bit more tricky due to spacing. The lowest profile of the fastener base, not using rails, is 1/8". With rails it is 5/8" high for the regular and 7/8" high for the heavy duty. I hope to eventually have some photos of installs on racks.

Thank you, good questions.

wonderful!!

JUST what I was looking for as far as info. Thanks for taking the time.

This very well may be the solution I've been looking for!

-Brian

 

[BIGdaddy]

Agreed. I am ALL about being able to keep my gear cases packed and stacked when not in use. Our first car camping trip took me near a week of evenings to get things packed and ready to go. 2nd trip? We left on two hour's notice.

Any system that lets me keep gear organized, secure, and clean and merely requires loading or latching into the camper is a huge plus. This is the major reason why the system I'm building for the van is based around cases/bins instead of drawers. Its not that I don't want to build drawers, and its not that drawers wouldn't be more functional in the field, its that I simply don't want to have to re-pack the vehicle before every trip (or haul all the gear in my daily driver, either).

yeah, and this system would let you keep the utility of your van, and me, the meager space of my cherokee, for cargo hauling, etc...

I decided I hated the weight and lost space of perminant drawers in the back of my cherocar...If I can just leave these tabs in, I'd lose absotutely nothing as far as flexibility.

Same goes for my rack up top. I just had to carry a set piece for my wifes play. It would have sucked if I had a bunch of perminently mounted stuff up there.

I also like the fact that I can adapt nearly any container with their baseplate/tab system. I'm still trying to figure out how to haul firewood, tools, etc. in a secure way.

 

[CaribouCargo]

I camp a lot with my wife and 5-year old daughter. I can get all 3 down sleeping bags, sleeping pads, 4-person tent, cook set, and a bunch of other odds and ends into the 7300 box that sits in the garage all ready to go. Put it into the back of my T-100 with a few other big things (camp chairs, cooler) and we are off for the weekend without much effort.

-rog

 

[kenallwine]

Also, we have in design a version that has two fasteners on the front of the box (the side of the vehicle you can access), and two forks on the back side that grab flange bushings. On a roof rack, with the case or box facing the side of the vehicle, it might be hard to access the back side, therefore this new design.

-rog

This is a great idea! It would make is much easier for access on a lifted rig. Let us know when these will be available!!

 

[BIGdaddy]

This is a great idea! It would make is much easier for access on a lifted rig. Let us know when these will be available!!

x2, excellent idea.

 

[nbleak21]

Being in the military, and using pelican/storm cases on a daily basis, has definitely attested to their strength, durability, and ability to remain water-tight... which has transpired into better functionality with the use of such cases in my personal time. Photography gear, Computers, and other various electronics always find themselves stored in such cases when traveling, whether in or outside of the vehicle (Jeep wranglers tend to get a little bit wet inside when it rains!)

That being said, this is a great idea for the system, as I have pondered very similar locking devices for such units myself (think of the lock keys in the rear seat of a HMMWV...) But while I like the idea, personally I feel something that would fold flat, and snap in place would be a much more convenient solution, rather than tabs sticking out, or holes jutting through, therefore elimiating the cases ability to be waterproof.

You guys are on the right track, but when they become a little bit more "tossable" without the worry of damage/bending of mounts, these will become a much more viable option for those of us a little bit rougher on our cases.

That being said, I do like the strap system, alot. Making it universal (for different size boxes to stack on one another) is critical, and making the straps themselves concealible, even if it added a little extra depth the the universal platform, would be outstanding.

 

[CaribouCargo]

nbleak21,

Good points. There may be customers, such as the military, who would buy the External-to-the-case QFS system with fold-away hardware feature. It would add a lot to the cost, but most certainly doable. We do offer custom designs for military, law enforcement, fire-rescue, etc., and I do see expansion of the product customized for certain large customers. The tabs (L-brackets) by the way do not stick out further than the latches and hinges on the larger boxes, so they are somewhat even with the profile of the box. We are experimenting with rubber plugs that may be inserted into the holes created by the internal-to-the-box QFS product, so waterproofness could be maintained when the case is off the vehicle. Finally, some kind of retractable strap for the Pel-Locator & Strap version, certainly that is possible, I'll check into such a strap if one exists. We'll eventually offer the Pel-Locator & Strap version as a kit with straps & cleats. Lots do to Good ideas and comments, thank you.

-roger

 

[NothingClever]

Roger's good people. I met him waaaaay back in the day when he was proto-typing the Adventure Pipe products.

 

[CaribouCargo]

Hey NC, good to see you here.

 

[CaribouCargo]

Please see our new Video here on YouTube.... http://www.youtube.com/user/cariboucases#p/a/u/1/O0eioiX3umc

Note that our External Quick Fasten system now utilizes two quarter-turn fasteners on the handle side of the case closest to you, and on the far side of the case a pair of forked L-brackets engage with flange bushings bolted to the bases. The video demonstrates how easy it is the attach and remove cases, expecially on the roof rack when the rear or far side of the case is not easily accessible.

-roger

 

[zukrider]

i like the variety of cases. and your not to far me, im in arvada. do you have any suggestions for my tintop samurai?

joe

 

[CaribouCargo]

I suggest getting some type of roof rack, and then our 2900 series cases mounted to that since they are low profile. You might also get a rack for the rear tire carrier and mount any of our cases to that. If you want to stop by our shop give us a call a day or two ahead. Hope this helps, thank you.

-roger

 

[1loudLX]

do the quick mounts move around at all or is it completely locked down with those new L brackets?

 

[CaribouCargo]

do the quick mounts move around at all or is it completely locked down with those new L brackets?

It is completely locked down at the handle-side of the case with the quarter-turn fasteners, and there is just a tiny amount of play at the L-Bracket-Flange Bushing interface at the back/hinge side of the case (there has to be a slip fit at this interface).

-rog